Scottsdale Unified School District's spending under investigation by Arizona attorney general

The Arizona Attorney General's Office is investigating procurement practices for school renovations in the Scottsdale Unified School District. This video has been updated to include information about Hunt & Caraway's 2013 contract with the district.
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The Arizona Attorney General’s Office is investigating procurement practices for school renovations in the Scottsdale Unified School District at the same time the district conducts its own related review on the issue.

District residents have complained for months about a lack of transparency about bidding and billing processes and what they are paying for, with many complaints focused on a contentious rebuild of Hopi Elementary School.

The school district has spent as much as $2.4 million since 2016 to pay Phoenix-based Hunt & Caraway Architects as the lead firm for rebuilding and renovating Scottsdale elementary schools, according to district documents obtained by The Arizona Republic after a public-records request.

Now, state authorities and an attorney hired by the district are working to determine if the district complied with state and district policy in bringing Hunt & Caraway into the project.

The AG’s Office confirmed to The Republic in a Dec. 5 interview that there are two open investigations involving the district and “procurement issues.” Spokeswoman Mia Garcia declined to comment further, citing policy to not discuss ongoing cases.

The district is also conducting its own internal investigation, according to SUSD spokeswoman Erin Helm. SUSD Attorney Michelle Marshall has hired attorney Susan Segal of the Gust Rosenfeld law firm to examine “current SUSD procurement processes,” including the procurement services from Hunt & Caraway, Helm said.

“This external review is being conducted in the interest of transparency and to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent with the utmost integrity,” Helm said.

Hunt & Caraway's paid invoices include only limited information of the work performed, including projects at Hopi Elementary School, Pima Elementary School, football fields at three high schools and a centralized kitchen for district services, documents showed.

Several other issues also have been raised by those who question whether the district followed state and district procurement rules. Among them:

Hunt & Caraway provided early information to the district about the cost of renovations, which helped shape the district's proposed bond issue, according to documents released by the district. Hunt & Caraway sought payment for that work weeks before it was awarded the 2016 contract for the master-plan analysis, documents show. According to an attorney hired by the district, the firm was qualified to work for Scottsdale schools based on a 2013 bid.

Hunt & Caraway ultimately was paid $16,236 for “professional services for facilities planning and review for discussion on future bond," but the district said it had no written master plan from the firm.

After the bond issue passed in November 2016, the architectural firm was awarded the renovation contract with no further bidding process, documents show.

Brian Robichaux, the company's president, co-owner and principal architect, had been convicted on a felony theft charge involving an Arizona Department of Transportation contract almost 20 years ago, with no record of full restitution being made, documents and court records show. Under state law, causes for disbarment or suspension of an individual from participating in a school district procurement include conviction of a crime arising out of the performance of a public or private contract.

Scottsdale resident Dan Drake, whose kids attended Hopi, was among the residents who first raised concerns.

"Because of Robichaux's position, Hunt & Caraway should not have been in the bidding at all," Drake said.

Drake questioned whether the district has managed public money prudently.

"This all came out when I started asking for a feasibility study that said all they (district officials) can do is tear down Hopi. They still haven't produced the merits of proceeding in the fashion they are proceeding," he said.

"We're being played," Drake said.

"Every time we turn around, somebody new is getting a portion of the tax dollars for this."

Superintendent Denise Birdwell declined a request by The Republic for an interview, citing the ongoing review process.

Along with reviewing the district's procurement process, Gust Rosenfeld serves as the district's bond counsel, in connection with the issuance and sale of school-improvement bonds and refunding bonds, according to the SUSD attorney. The firm's work for the district could be a conflict of interest, Drake said

"Who's the client here?" he said.

Drake said he sees the district's decision to hire outside counsel as a way to get the public to "stop harping." It also could affect the state investigation if authorities decide to wait for the conclusion of the district's review, he said.

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How Hunt & Caraway got involved

The district took its first steps toward a bond election in January 2016 by starting to review what would be included in the bond request to voters. For that, they needed an architectural firm to provide analysis and estimates.

Documents obtained by The Republic show that Hunt & Caraway did not go through the district procurement process but instead was approved through 1 Government Procurement Alliance, a Phoenix-based non-profit cooperative.

1GPA has been used by the Scottsdale district for bid processes since 2012, but the timing of Hunt & Caraway's involvement is under scrutiny.

It was approved and advertised for a week starting on Jan. 21, 2016, with a due date for submissions by Feb. 11, 2016, in Arizona Business Gazette as well as in The Florence Reminder & Blade Tribune.

A pre-bid conference was hosted by the school district on Jan. 22, 2016, that brought together representatives from 30 interested firms. A meeting check-in sheet reviewed by The Republic did not show thata representative from Hunt & Caraway was present.

Birdwell was hired as interim superintendent on Jan. 30, 2016, on a six-month contract before she was offered a three-year-contract later in the year. Documents show she immediately became involved in the bond-election process.

Days before the deadline for the request for qualifications, The Republic found the correspondence had been established between Birdwell and Brian Robichaux, Hunt & Carawaydirector and principal architect. The firm had been qualified to provide architectural services for the district since 2013, Segal, the attorney looking into the district's practices, confirmed.

Parents of children at Hopi Elementary School, and residents near the Arcadia structure, say the school's new design removes historical architecture, weakens the learning environment and creates a traffic burden on the rest of the neighborhood.(Photo: Tristan Ettleman/The Republic)

A letter dated Feb. 2, 2016, between THK Associates— a Colorado-based landscape architecture, market research and design firm —and Robichaux indicates Hunt & Caraway's early work on the plan.

“Dear Mr. Robichaux, It was good to hear from you yesterday regarding the Scottsdale Unified School District,” THK Principal Peter Elzi wrote. “As we understand it, you and your associates are in the process of completing a master plan for the district, which involved the assessment of examining all of the elementary schools in the district.”

“This external review is being conducted in the interest of transparency and to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent with the utmost integrity.”

Erin Helm, Scottsdale Unified School District spokeswoman

The letter went on to detailthe work scope for the district to propose the $20 million bond issue that coming November. It also included the outline of research methodology to help prepare a market and enrollment analysis for the district.

The Republic requested the master plan completed by Hunt & Caraway but was told by Marshall, the district's attorney, there were “no responsive documents.”

“Hunt & Caraway participated in meetings and discussions, including discussions of the life cycle analysis, and reviewed and analyzed the 2008 Master Plan Summary,” Marshall said.

A Scottsdale school district purchase order shows on Feb. 8, a blanketrequest for $60,000 to Hunt & Caraway was issued for “professional services for facilities planning and review for discussion on future bond.” Payment history records show that the firm ultimately was paid $16,236 for the service.

A letter dated Feb. 9, 2016, was sent by Robichaux to Birdwell.

“Dear Dr. Birdwell, we appreciate your request to present the following fee proposals for master plan analysis services for Scottsdale Unified School District,” Robichaux wrote. “Hunt & Caraway Architects will work as a team with Scottsdale to develop campus projects, phasing budgets, and timelines necessary for impactful changes to your district. We recognize the importance of this analysis to help the district manage campus upgrades, renovations, and remodels as needed.”

“We will work closely with your staff ... to create an efficient master plan. We look forward to working with you and the team!” Robichaux wrote.

The governing board officially awarded the $180,000 contract for the master-plan analysis to Hunt & Caraway in April 2016.

The bidding process

A rendering of the redesign for Hopi Elementary School in Phoenix.(Photo: Scottsdale Unified School District)

In all, 29 firms submitted their architectural qualifications to be considered for the master-plan analysis.

There were no other district documents released to The Republic that indicate that any of the other companies besides Hunt & Caraway had billed the district for any services before the contract was awarded.

Bids reviewed by the 1GPA are generally handled by a committee made up of two to three members who are asked to review all proposals, with a rule of not communicating or discussing bids or proposals with any of the applicants.

Records show that the committeewas made up of Carter; Bonnie Gonzalez from H2 Group, a Scottsdale-based project consulting firm; and Terry Worcester, former Scottsdale school district executive director of facilities and operations.

The proposals were evaluated on a 1,000-point system. Five finalists were identified to do the master-plan analysis: Hunt & Caraway, DLR, ADM, EMC2 and Orcutt/Winslow Architects. The total average score for Hunt & Caraway from the three members was 888 points, ranking third out of the five firms, records show.

Though Hunt & Caraway got the contract for the master-plan analysis, other architectural firms also received contracts from the district.

When the voters in the district approved the $229 million bond in November 2016, Birdwell announced that Hunt & Caraway would remain on as lead firm to design the new Hopi Elementary School, citing the sufficiency of the 1GPA process.

It's common for districts to go through the procurement process again to hire an architecture firm for the actual building design.

Issues for Hunt & Caraway

A rendering of the redesign for Hopi Elementary School in Phoenix.(Photo: Scottsdale Unified School District)

The district's handling of the architect selection caused Drake and other parents and community members to dig deeper into the firm, which had been dissolved by the state, and into one of its leaders, Robichaux, who had been convicted of a felony years before that potentially could have disqualified him from involvement in a school contract.

According to records with the Arizona Corporation Commission, Hunt & Caraway was dissolved by the state in June 2015 for failure to file an annual report.

The firm received a notice of pending dissolution on April 4, 2015, and was given 60 days under state law to file the report.

“Every time we turn around, somebody new is getting a portion of the tax dollars for this.”

Dan Drake, Scottsdale resident and Hopi Elementary parent

Under state law, a corporation can apply for reinstatement within six years of being dissolved. Records show that the Hunt & Caraway annual report for 2015 was filed Feb. 9, 2016.

Records show that same day, Robichaux sent Birdwell a letter accepting a request to present fee proposals for the district’s master plan analysis.

The next day, the Corporation Commission issued a certificate of reinstatement to Hunt & Caraway.

Court records obtained by The Republic reveal that Robichaux was convicted of felony theft in 1998.

He was hired by the Arizona Department of Transportation for a construction project to build homes on the Salt River Reservation near Scottsdale for 70 families who were displaced by the construction of the Loop 101 freeway.

From November 1996 to March 1997, Robichaux submitted multiple payment requests with fabricated progress reports on the construction of a home for a woman, records state.

The home was never built, and Robichaux later admitted to obtaining $125,653 in funds for unauthorized purposes, records state.

“The defendant apparently fails to recognize the seriousness of his action,” stated an investigation report conducted by the AG’s Office that was filed in 1998. “The defendant’s excuses and projection of blame make him a risk to reoffend if it suits him and furthers his interest."

Robichaux was ordered to pay restitution to ADOT, but as of publication, no satisfaction of judgment has been recorded, The Republic has found.

Additionally, records show that Robichaux was in Maricopa County Superior Court in 2016 involving a $40,332 judgment against him by former Hunt & Caraway owners. They accused him of failing to pay a debt of more than $37,000.

Terms of the agreement state that if Robichaux failed to make a full payment by December 2017, all assets of Hunt & Caraway would revert to the previousowner.

Scottsdale Superintendent Birdwell announced in an Oct. 16 community meeting that Robichaux has been replaced as architect because of an illness.

“As of Nov. 2, 2017 Mr. Robichaux will no longer be engaged in the business, planning or development of Hunt & Caraway Architects,” Caraway wrote, saying she will assume the duties of president.

“I look forward to continuing our professional relationship with Scottsdale Unified School District,” she wrote.

An update to the Arizona Corporation Commission website on Dec. 13 listed Caraway as president of the firm and Jonathan Schmid as vice president and co-director.

Procurement process reviewed, audited

A rendering of the redesign for Hopi Elementary School in Phoenix.(Photo: Scottsdale Unified School District)

In the past months, parents and community members have questioned the actions of the district's top leaders involving the procurement of Hunt & Caraway.

At meetings and in social-media postings, residents demanded transparency in the school-renovation process.

A letter obtained by The Republic indicates that Birdwell recently reached out to 1GPA's Carter over the concerns about the procurement of the firm.

Carter assured Birdwell in the Oct. 31, 2017, letter that before issuing the request for qualifications for the project, a meeting was held between a representative from the Attorney General’s Office, the Auditor General’s Office, another 1GPA representative and himself.

The solicitation also was audited by the firm Heinfield Meech and Co. — a consulting group for school districts — with no findings, he wrote.

“I assure you that with the above RFQ and subsequent awards are in compliance,” Carter wrote. “Hunt & Caraway’s proposal received high scores from the evaluation committee ...: "

1GPA, according to Carter, conducted a search of the Arizona State Board of Technical Registration to check if every bidding firm was registered.

“At the time of the evaluation process, no red flags appeared,” Carter wrote. “A second search was performed today and Hunt & Caraway Architects are in fact registered and everything looks to be in order.”

This story has been updated to include information about Hunt & Caraway's 2013 contract for architectural services with the Scottsdale Unified School District.